House Intelligence Committee Chair – ‘There are individuals in the US working with ISIS to harm Americans’ House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike #Turner spoke on CBS’s Face the Nation and revealed that there are active #terror cells in the U.S. homeland working in partnership with #ISIS to harm #Americans.

US Congress passes stopgap funding bill to avert government shutdown The US Senate has passed a #stopgap funding bill to avert a government #shutdown. As many as 85 senators backed the bill, while 11 voted against it. The House of Representatives passed the legislation earlier. The bill extends government funding through March 14 and allocates over $100 bln for disaster relief. The document will now be submitted to US President Joe Biden for singing. According to the White House, Biden plans to sign the bill on Saturday. The Congress was expected to pass the bill until midnight (5:00 a.m. GMT on Saturday) in order to avert a government shutdown. US lawmakers have so far been unable to approve a federal budget for the fiscal year that began on October 1. Meanwhile, the White House said earlier that the Office of Management and Budget "has ceased shutdown preparations."

Government Shutdown Looms as Deadline Nears The House of Representatives has rejected a stopgap funding bill backed by President-elect Donald Trump, leaving negotiations in a race against tonight’s midnight deadline. With 38 Republicans joining Democrats, the vote of 235 to 174 has put the federal government on the brink of a shutdown. The Sticking Points - Trump’s proposed resolution included three months of stopgap funding, a two-year debt ceiling suspension, $100 billion in disaster aid, and farmer support packages. This followed his controversial call to permanently repeal the debt ceiling, a rule that currently caps Treasury borrowing at $36 trillion. The debt ceiling suspension, enacted in June 2023, is set to expire on January 1, 2025. Its fate now hangs in the balance as lawmakers scramble to prevent the shutdown. Potential Impact - A government #shutdown would furlough millions of federal workers, though essential services like military operations and air traffic control would remain active.

France's Macron names Francois Bayrou as new prime minister Emmanuel #Macron has officially appointed Francois #Bayrou, leader of the centrist Democratic Movement political party, as the nation's prime minister, the Elysee Palace announced in a statement. "The President of the Republic has designated Francois Bayrou as prime minister and entrusted him with forming a new government," the statement said. Bayrou, aged 73, takes over from Michel Barnier, who also shares the same age and stepped down after France’s lower house passed a successful no-confidence motion against his cabinet on December 4. The Democratic Movement leader becomes France’s fourth prime minister in 2024, following the terms of Elisabeth #Borne, Gabriel #Attal, and #Barnier. Bayrou has been at the helm of the Democratic Movement since 2007. In 2014, he assumed the role of mayor in Pau, a city in southwestern France. Additionally, he has chaired the National Council for Refoundation since 2020. Bayrou is also a seasoned presidential candidate, having run for the French presidency in 2002, 2007, and 2012. In 2017, however, he opted not to run, endorsing Macron.

New rebellion erupts against Assad in the Daraa province #Assad soldiers are either disarmed by the crowds or fleeing their positions. New rebellion erupts against Assad in the Daraa province in southern Syria, right next to the borders with #Jordan and #Israel. In addition, Tensions in #Damascus are rising: footage of #Assad's presidential guard forces on the rooftops of houses in the al-Maliki neighborhood to defend against #drones. #Syria

[Insane-Predictable] Biden grants his son pardon on two criminal cases Joe Biden has decided to issue a pardon for his son Hunter on two criminal cases, in spite of his repeated vows not to do so. "Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter," the US leader said in a statement published by the White House on Sunday. "From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," the statement reads. "The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election," Biden insists. "No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son - and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter - who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me - and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough," Biden asserted. Previously, the White House repeatedly stated that Biden had no plans to grant his son a pardon. According to the statement, this concerns Hunter Biden’s federal gun charges in Delaware and federal tax evasion charges in California. The press service of President Trump’s transition team has not yet responded to TASS’ request to comment on Biden’s announcement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cjq3glLWrw

Potential handover of nuclear arms by US to Kyiv ‘act of treason’, says US congresswoman The Biden administration potentially giving nuclear weapons to Ukraine can be considered an act of treason, member of the US House of Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene said. "This is insane and completely unconstitutional, possibly an act of treason. This must be stopped immediately!!" she wrote on her page on X, commenting on a remark by one of the users that, according to US media outlets, "Biden officials are reportedly seriously considering giving nuclear weapons to Ukraine." Taylor Greene suggested that the Biden administration is "trying to start a nuclear war and use it as the reason to stop the transfer of power to Trump." #TRUMP2024

GOP clinches 218, re-taking House control #Republicans projected to keep control of #House as Trump prepares to implement agenda; Democrats lost their bid to win control of the House of Representatives The Fox News Decision Desk has now projected that Republicans will keep their majority in the House of Representatives. The number of seats the party will hold depends on the outcome in a handful of remaining districts. There are nine races yet to be called. They are: Alaska’s at-large district, California’s 9th, 13th, 21st, and 45th districts, Iowa’s 1st district, Maine’s 2nd district, Ohio’s 9th district and Oregon’s 5th district. Republicans soared to the 218 threshold for majority after Republican Juan Ciscomani was elected in Arizona’s 6th District. The first-term Republican won a rematch against Democrat Kirsten Engel, whom Ciscomani narrowly defeated in the 2022 midterms. Mike Johnson, whose rise to speaker last year ended a leadership battle in the House, is likely to continue serving as the 56th Speaker. #TRUMP2024

PM Netanyahu and wife send blessings to Donald Trump The PM, in the name of the 78% of Israeli Jews that said in the polls that they would welcome a victory for Donald #Trump, sends his blessings to Donald Trump and wife. "Dear Donald and Melania Trump, Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback! Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory! In true friendship, yours, Benjamin and Sara #Netanyahu." #TRUMP2024

[Video Explainer] #IDF ground incursion into #Lebanon There are Olympic races that are longer than the distance between the Lebanese village of Kfarkela to the Israeli town of Metula. The IDF takes you with them as they enter Lebanon and shows you what they find - A huge web of tunnels, houses full of weapons and plans for attacks in the Galilee the same as Hamas did on Oct. 7th !